The invention is in the field of containers for sewing accessories and is directed to providing a sewing box which provides a number of user conveniences at low cost.
Sewing boxes have been used for a long time, and range from the rudimentary open box for a few accessories to the elaborate cabinet the size of a large piece of furniture. Some examples of sewing cabinets, as well as other containers which have hinged side panels, are illustrated in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: Des. 98,380; Des. 158,422; Des. 191,029; Des. 194,333; Des. 248,194; Des. 155,246; 406,996; 1,378,614 2,226,693; 2,432,914; 2,443,132; 2,564,949; 3,245,573.
It is believed that the known prior art in this field has not fully succeeded in combining a sufficient number of user conveniences in a sewing box which is compact when closed, to be easy to store and transport, but can still store a great number of sewing accessories and yet can be made available at low cost. It is believed that a need exists for such a sewing box, and this invention is directed to meeting that need.
In an exemplary and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the sewing box comprises a rectangular central tray, a pair of spool panels hinged to a pair of opposite sidewalls of the central tray and a pair of sidetrays hinged to the two remaining sidewalls of the central tray, such that when the sidetrays and spool panels are pivoted to their open positions, the box has a cross-shaped configuration allowing convenient access to the sewing accessories in or on the spool panels, sidetrays and central tray, and when the sidetrays and spool panels are moved to their closed positions, the box is highly compact for the amount of storage it provides.
The sewing box provides a high number of user conveniences. For example, the central tray and the sidetrays are divided into a number of compartments, and each compartment in the sidetrays has its own clear plastic lid which locks in place to retain the compartment contents even when the sidetray is upright or tipped. The spool trays have spool spindles that point slightly up when the spool trays are upright, to keep the spools from sliding off by gravity. Although the two spool panels are identical to each other, the array of spool spindles on each is slightly off-center such that when the spool panels are brought to their upright, closed positions, the free end of one spool spindle keeps a spool on the opposite spool spindle from sliding off even if the box is tipped. The central tray provides independent support for each sidetray or spool panel which is in its upright position such that it can remain upright even without support from the remaining sidetrays or spool panels. When the spool panels are brought to their upright, closed positions, they can be locked together by manually operable slide locks. If at the time the sidetrays are also in their upright, closed positions, they interlock with the spool panels to keep the box closed and locked. However, the sidetrays can remain open for use while the spool panels are closed and locked, and the sidetrays can thereafter be pivoted to their closed positions and snaplocked with the spool panels. Conversely, when the spool panels are closed and locked with each other and the sidetrays, a sidetray can be released, to be moved to its open position, by slightly deforming it to release it from its snap lock connection with the spool panels, which remain locked to each other. The clear plastic lids for the sidetray compartments have tabs which extend outwardly beyond the sidetray and serve two functions: they facilitate opening the compartment, and they press again the outside of the spool panels when the box is closed so as to prevent the sidetrays from being pushed further into the closed box. A hinged handle is attached to the top end of each spool panel to fold flush with the box for easier storage and shipment. External pockets for items such as magazines and patterns can be formed by snapping pocket panels onto the outside of the spool panels.
The manufacturing cost of the sewing box is minimized by an innovative combination of features. For example, the sidetrays are identical to each other, and the spool panels are also identical to each other, thereby allowing manufacture by a mold having cavities only for a single sidetray and a single spool panel, or, if a mold with cavities for two sidetrays and two spool panels is used, allowing for interchangeability of molded components and for less expensive mold cutting. For the same reasons, the handles are identical to each other, and so are the slide locks and sidetray compartment lids and lid-retaining pins. The pivotal connections between the central tray and the sidetrays and spool panels is by means of integrally molded hinge pins which fit within hinge openings in the central tray that are also integrally molded, but without the use of hole-making cams in the mold cavity for the central tray, to thereby reduce the cost of making the mold. The clear plastic lids for the compartments in the sidetrays are also pivotally secured by means of integrally molded hinge pins and hinge openings formed by a snap lock connection between T-shaped pins and ribs integrally molded in the sidetrays. The entire sewing box can be assembled by hand, without the use of any tools, fasteners or adhesives.